


At the End

by chaosminion



Category: Avengers, Loki - Fandom, Marvel
Genre: Canon Divergence, Infinity War ending scene, Infinity War spoilers, Loki has reasons, M/M, Thanos contemplates the universe, and will it involve a trickster?, gotta do what you gotta do, just fluff to soothe my soul, what is he going to do next?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2019-05-05 20:19:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14626308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaosminion/pseuds/chaosminion
Summary: It is done. Thanos can rest.





	At the End

**Author's Note:**

> I am sure everyone was as destroyed by the movie as I was. Let me tell you, I was pissed at the first five minutes, but not for the reasons you would expect. 
> 
> BUT OH. OH BOOOOI I GOT MY SCENE YA'LL. I GOT MY SCENE. I KNOW IT WAS DARK BUT I GOT MY NECK GRAB OH BOI. 
> 
> So I wrote this to compensate for my pain. Won't you join me in this hell?

He wasn’t dead.

Just in suspension. 

From his bubble, Loki could look out onto a field of green, with broad sweeping blankets of purple flowers that reached up towards a shining sun. The sun was shining on him. 

Without Thor. 

He couldn’t bring himself to regret it. If the sun was shining here, perhaps it was shining on Earth, if Thor had made it there. Wherever Thor was, there was hope. Loki had no doubt his resilient brother would find a place, rescue what was left of their people, and start anew. 

He lingered in his bubble for days. Loki wasn’t sure how long. He was safe, and all his needs were met. He didn’t feel hungry, or lonely, or sad at all. His mind was a haze of memories, all playing before him, from the very first to the very latest. The chain of decisions lead from his development and discovery of character, to his failures. 

Finally, regret entered the picture. His failures had lead to this. A crossroads he had not foreseen. Looking back, it had been such a strange question, when Thanos asked. 

What would you give in exchange for his life?

Loki had looked around him, noticing the thirst in the eyes of those watching.   
 _A new life. One that will carry the legacy of your blood._

It had taken convincing, of course. Loki had to prove he could deliver on his promise. But he was playing the long game. In the end, it would be worth it. 

In the end, Thor would be alive. 

The bubble was disintegrading around him, and he opened his eyes just as his feet touched the soft grass. Before him was a building that provided shade, and looked out over the open fields of the planet he was on. 

The sun was setting. 

Loki made his way to the top, noting his change of clothes. They were more open and flowing, draped over his shoulders and cascading behind to brush along the flowers. Loki’s skin was no longer pale. It was the true blue of his ancestry. It no longer made a difference, now that he was reconciled to it. That anger had departed long ago 

It didn’t take long to spot him. Thanos was not a minor figure. The great titan was sitting on the edge, watching the sun descend. Loki approached on careful, quiet steps, not disturbing the peace. 

At the hands of this madman rivers of blood had flowed to fill countless chasms. Yet here he was, sitting, with glistening cheeks and sorrowful eyes. 

Those eyes finally turned and landed on Loki, who became as still as the columns hiding him. 

“You’re here.”

Loki inhaled, long and slow, before stepping out. “I am.”

Thanos returned to contemplating the star. “Good. I will have need of you. But first…”

He didn’t finish his sentence, but Loki knew. Knew that weariness. Thanos leaned back with a sigh, and silence settled down once more. The fighting was ended. It was finished. 

What more did he have to fight for, Loki wondered. His part was finished. He could renege on his promise, but… there would be no guarantee of Thor’s safety.

He had to go on. For Thor. 

So he approached the titan, stepping carefully over the cracked stones. This place had once been lived in, but it was broken, like Asgard. Like Jotunheim.

Like Earth. 

“What did you lose?” Loki asked, his voice as quiet as the breeze. There was an edge of accusation to it. What could Thanos lose, that could rival theirs?

There was no malice in Thanos at the moment. No rage. Only sadness. 

“Everything,” he answered. The dying light reflected gold in his eyes as he watched.

Loki nodded. Of course. It was the price for such power. No one was left unscathed. Not even Thanos. 

“Is my brother still alive?” He had to be. It was the only reason Loki was here at all. 

“Last time I saw him.”

Loki’s relief was a flood, making his shoulders sag, and his legs shake. Thanos wouldn’t lie about that. Not after everything. 

All fear he had once held was gone. It no longer held any control over him. Loki came closer, circled around to the front, and calmly settled on Thanos’ lap, his back against the broad chest, leaning back as if he were a comfortable recliner. 

“Not everything,” Loki replied, watching the same thing, but seeing something entirely different. “Where are we, anyway?”

Thanos said nothing, and did nothing, for quite some time. He hadn’t tossed Loki off, though, so Loki let the peace stretch on. 

“We are…. on a planet I saved,” Thanos replied. “Where my daughter was born.”

Loki hummed. “Then it’s as good a place as any.”

A big hand moved, settling on Loki’s hip. It was warm, almost hot against Loki’s cooler skin. The hand with the gauntlet was behind the titan, but Loki could see the edge was burnt and crumpled. The gauntlet had taken damage and would need to be repaired. 

“I wouldn’t mind… trying again,” Thanos murmured. “Starting over. Life goes on, after all.”

Loki closed his eyes, offering a small prayer that Thor would never find him and learn what Loki had traded for his life. 

He snuggled closer to the titan. “Yes. Life goes on.”

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so I was pissed that Loki pulls out a knife. A FUCKING KNIFE?! WHAT THE FUCK?! Really, writers? Really. What the fuck ever. You did my boy an injury. 
> 
> Anyway. I have Thanos material for the next ten years. I'll be working on my fics. <3


End file.
